I love the super detail of the current models, but I am afraid that we are pricing some new enthusiasts out of the market. My grandsons are very interested in my models, but want to "game" with them. There seems to be a thriving market for moderate quality gaming models at lesser prices under $25 per ship. Shapeways is an entry point for these new collectors, much as Alnavco and Superior were for me.
However, I find much more passion in young collectors in the American Civil War era and Modern era than the 2 World Wars focus of my day.
And there are several very quality producers putting out outstanding models in 3D print format: War Time Journal; Brown Water Navy, Nanomaquette, WOW and others. While their price mark varies, for the most part, they are equal to near equal in quality to the metal models, and usually cheaper.
Will these new younger collectors/gamers "graduate" to the works of art type metal models current today? I am less sure of that.
Thank you for the photo.
I am wondering this question, in the most polite way.
Does anyone think this hobby will be picked up by the new generation? Because there is a lot of white hair in there, again! Asking in the most respectful way, no offense intended here..
On a beautiful Saturday afternoon, 11 of us got together at the house of Tom Vargas. This time, 3 wives also joined us, but they did not participate in our lengthy navy and ship related discussions. As you can see on the photos, Tom has created a vast amount of dioramas and displays of 1250 ships.And most of us also brought models to sell or display.
The discussion part of our gathering centered again on the state of our hobby. Producers and dealers are retiring, or slowing down. For the collectors of metal models, the availability of casters is becoming a problem. But it looks to us as if the casters of toy soldiers are still producing a lot. Also, the hobby of railroads is still going strong. They seem to be able to attract younger collectors better than we are.
In 2 weeks, the delayed Kassel show will take place under a trio of new organizers, but at the same venue as before. It will be interesting to see the future of this vital event of our hobby. Of our group yesterday, only Kevin and I will be in Kassel.
I mentioned to the group that the event at the International Maritime Museum in Hamburg is still planned for September. My friends and I had reserved a table for our Lingener Navy Strategy Game. However, the organizers of the Hamburg event have informed us that given the current war in the Ukraine, the showing of a "war game" might not be appropriate. We are still planing to exhibit it in Kassel.
Our San Jose chapter has 3 displays planned for May:
May 19 at a retirement community in Cupertino
May 21 at the San Martin Airport-an event that attracted 1500 visitors last year
Memorial Oak Hill Cemetery-I forgot the date
The displays at these events are always very popular and our San Jose chapter gets invited back every year. They are also in touch with the organizers of the Spirit of '45 at San Joses Historic Park in early August.
We discussed the status of various US Navy Museum Ships, some of them are in serious trouble.
The liveliest part of our discussion was about Navy and war movies from 1942 to present. I guess this brought back a lot of good memories for most or all of us. Very interesting.
Our next meeting is planned for September 24, 2022 at Paul's house.
Here my photos from yesterday: Anyone can view this shared album at: https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#B0m5zXwoYh6vA4
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